The thermal spray process has been widely used to deposit nanostructured coatings for industrial applications, including aerospace, pulp and paper, machinery, petroleum and petrochemical, biomedical, etc. D. Mateyka, Plasma Spraying of Metallic and Ceramic Coatings, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1989. Nanostructured coatings can have improved mechanical properties compared to those observed in conventional coatings. M. Gell, E. H. Jordan, Y. H. Sohn, D. Goberman, L. Shaw, T. D. Xiao, “Development and implementation of plasma sprayed nanostructured ceramic coatings”, Surface & Coatings Technology, 146 (2001) 48-54; E. H. Jordan, M. Gell, Y. H. Sohn, D. Goberman, L. Shaw, S. Jiang, M. Wang, T. D. Xiao, Y. Wang, P. Strutt, “Fabrication and evaluation of plasma sprayed nanostructured alumina-titania coatings with superior properties”, Materials Science and Engineering A Structural Materials Properties Microstructure and Processing, 301 (1) (2001) 80-89; R. S. Lima, B. R. Marple, “Superior performance of high-velocity oxyfuel-sprayed nanostructured TiO2 in comparison to air plasma-sprayed conventional Al2O3-13TiO2”, Journal of Thermal Spray Technology, 14 (3) (2005) 397-404; R. S. Lima, B. R. Marple, “Enhanced ductility in thermally sprayed titania coating synthesized using a nanostructured feedstock”, Materials Science and Engineering A Structural Materials Properties Microstructure and Processing, 395 (1/2) (2005) 269-280; R. S. Lima, B. R. Marple, “From APS to HVOF spraying of conventional and nanostructured titania feedstock powders: a study on the enhancement of the mechanical properties”, Surface & Coatings Technology, 200 (11) (2006) 3428-3437; R. S. Lima, B. R. Marple, “Thermal spray coatings engineered from nanostructured ceramic agglomerated powders for structural, thermal barrier and biomedical applications: a review”, Journal of Thermal Spray Technology, 16 (1) (2007) 40-63; L. L. Shaw, D. Goberman, R. M. Ren, M. Gell, S. Jiang, Y. Wang, T. D. Xiao, P. R. Strutt, “The dependency of microstructure and properties of nanostructured coatings on plasma spray conditions”, Surface & Coatings Technology, 130 (1) (2000) 1-8. Thermal spray ceramic coatings are typically made using a crystalline powder feedstock. Individual crystalline nanoparticles cannot be thermally sprayed using production powder feeders. These nanosized particles would clog the hoses and fittings that transport the powder particles from the powder feeder to the thermal spray torch. R. S. Lima, B. R. Marple, “Thermal spray coatings engineered from nanostructured ceramic agglomerated powders for structural, thermal barrier and biomedical applications: a review”, Journal of Thermal Spray Technology, 16 (1) (2007) 40-63; Z. Chen, R. W. Trice, M. Besser, X. Y. Yang, D. Sordelet, “Air-plasma spraying colloidal solutions of nanosized ceramic powders”, Journal of Materials Science, 39 (13) (2004) 4171-4178. To overcome this problem, reconstitution of individual nanoparticles into spherical micrometer-sized granules is necessary. M. Gell, E. H. Jordan, Y. H. Sohn, D. Goberman, L. Shaw, T. D. Xiao, “Development and implementation of plasma sprayed nanostructured ceramic coatings”, Surface & Coatings Technology, 146 (2001) 48-54; E. H. Jordan, M. Gell, Y. H. Sohn, D. Goberman, L. Shaw, S. Jiang, M. Wang, T. D. Xiao, Y. Wang, P. Strutt, “Fabrication and evaluation of plasma sprayed nanostructured alumina-titania coatings with superior properties”, Materials Science and Engineering A Structural Materials Properties Microstructure and Processing, 301 (1) (2001) 80-89; L. L. Shaw, D. Goberman, R. M. Ren, M. Gell, S. Jiang, Y. Wang, T. D. Xiao, P. R. Strutt, “The dependency of microstructure and properties of nanostructured coatings on plasma spray conditions”, Surface & Coatings Technology, 130 (1) (2000) 1-8.
Recently, a suspension plasma spray (SPS) process has been developed for the deposition of nanostructured coatings. See, e.g., Z. Chen, R. W. Trice, M. Besser, X. Y. Yang, D. Sordelet, “Air-plasma spraying colloidal solutions of nanosized ceramic powders”, Journal of Materials Science, 39 (13) (2004) 4171-4178; P. Fauchais, R. Etchart-Salas, C. Delbos, M. Tognonvi, V. Rat, J. F. Coudert, T. Chartier, “Suspension and solution plasma spraying of finely structured layers: potential application to SOFCs”, Journal of Physics D Applied Physics, 40 (8) (2007) 2394-2406; I. Burlacov, J. Jirkovsky, M. Muller, R. B. Heimann, “Induction plasma-sprayed photocatalytically active titania coatings and their characterization by micro-Raman spectroscopy”, Surface & Coatings Technology, 201 (1/2) (2006) 255-264; R. Tomaszek, L. Pawlowski, L. Gengembre, J. Laureyns, Z. Znamirowski, J. Zdanowski, “Microstructural characterization of plasma sprayed TiO2 functional coating with gradient of crystal grain size”, Surface & Coatings Technology, 201 (1/2) (2006) 45-56; F. L. Toma, G. Bertrand, D. Klein, C. Coddet, C. Meunier, “Nanostructured photocatalytic titania coatings formed by suspension plasma spraying”, Journal of Thermal Spray Technology, 15 (4) (2006) 587-592; J. O. Berghaus, B. Marple, C. Moreau, “Suspension plasma spraying of nanostructured WC-12Co coatings”, Journal of Thermal Spray Technology, 15 (4) (2006) 676-681; P. Fauchais, V. Rat, U. Delbos, J. F. Coudert, T. Chartier, L. Bianchi, “Understanding of suspension DC plasma spraying of finely structured coatings for SOFC”, IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, 33 (2) (2005) 920-930. In SPS, crystalline nanoparticles are dispersed in a solvent such as water or ethanol to form a suspension, and then the suspension is injected into the plasma torch. The crystalline nanoparticles melt in the plasma torch and form a nanostructured coating upon impact with a substrate. In both conventional and suspension plasma spray, crystalline nanosized powders are typically used. However, the preparation of nanocrystalline powders often requires high temperature and long heat treatments and therefore increases the powder preparation cost. For example, Chandradass et al. prepared zirconia doped alumina nanocrystalline powders at 1200° C. for 2 hours. J. Chandradass, J. H. Yoon, D. S. Bae, “Synthesis and characterization of zirconia doped alumina nanopowder by citrate-nitrate process”, Materials Science and Engineering A Structural Materials Properties Microstructure and Processing, 473 (1/2) (2008) 360-364. And O et al. synthesized alumina nanopowders at 1150 8 C for 3 h. Y. T. O, S. W. Kim, D. C. Shin, “Fabrication and synthesis of alpha-alumina nanopowders by thermal decomposition of ammonium aluminum carbonate hydroxide (AACH)”, Colloids and Surfaces A Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 313 (2008) 415-418.
Mixed metal oxide composites in general and alumina-zirconia composites in particular have gained wide applications as structural ceramics or protective coatings due to their excellent mechanical and thermal properties. J. Chevalier, A. H. De Aza, G. Fantozzi, M. Schehl, R. Torrecillas, “Extending the lifetime of ceramic orthopaedic implants”, Advanced Materials, 12 (21) (2000) 1619; J. Chevalier, S. Deville, G. Fantozzi, J. F. Bartolome, C. Pecharroman, J. S. Moya, L. A. Diaz, R. Torrecillas, “Nanostructured ceramic oxides with a slow crack growth resistance close to covalent materials”, Nano Letters, 5 (7) (2005) 1297-1301; A. Afrasiabi, M. Saremi, A. Kobayashi, “A comparative study on hot corrosion resistance of three types of thermal barrier coatings: YSZ, YSZ+Al2O3 and YSZ/Al2O3”, Materials Science and Engineering A Structural Materials Properties Microstructure and Processing, 478 (1/2) (2008) 264-269.
There is therefore a desire for simpler processes to form nanostructured metal oxide coatings, and particularly coatings with improved chemical homogeneity.